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Supreme Court’s Hadiya judgement is a lesson for all Indians

The Supreme Court’s recent judgement in what has come to be called the ‘love jihad case’ should be mandatory reading not just for the government and the judiciary but for all Indians.

The top court made a stirring call for the preservation of an individual’s right to privacy, which includes people’s freedom to eat and dress the way they want and to believe in any ideology or religion, as long as it doesn’t cause harm to others. The SC said the state and courts cannot and should not interfere in these matters.

Hadiya alias Akhila Ashokan, the face of the alleged ‘love jihad’ case with her husband Shafin Jahan speaks to media after Supreme Court order in Kozhikode. (PTI Photo)

Too many of our social customs– across communities — continue to place restrictive expectations on what we can wear or not wear, what kind of person to marry or what kind of food to eat. Women often end up the bearing the brunt of these patriarchal traditions and morality codes.

The SC has rightly said it is not anyone’s business what somebody else wears, consumes, believes in or who they marry. That’s why, last month, it upheld the marriage between a Kerala woman, Hadiya, and her husband Shafin, a union the Kerala high court had annulled. The top court – which rejected allegations that Hadiya had been brainwashed – said the right to marry a person of one’s choice is integral to the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. It should be congratulated for its progressive judgment upholding the tenets of our Constitution.

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TOI Quick Edits are written by a team of seasoned journalists from the Times of India's Edit Page and TOI-Online who respond to important news stories as they develop. The team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day.

TOI Quick Edits are written by a team of seasoned journalists from the Times of India's Edit Page and TOI-Online who respond to important news stories as th. . .

Author

TOI Quick Edits are written by a team of seasoned journalists from the Times of India's Edit Page and TOI-Online who respond to important news stories as they develop. The team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day.

TOI Quick Edits are written by a team of seasoned journalists from the Times of India's Edit Page and TOI-Online who respond to important news stories as th. . .